Means for automatically controlling pneumatically-actuated devices.



No. 835,777. PATENTED NOV. 13, 1906. G. P. BRAND. MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLING PNEUMATIOALLY AOTUATBD DEVICES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 16. 1906.

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. G. P. BRAND.

MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLING. PNEUMATIGALLY AGTUATED DEVICES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 16. 1906.

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MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLYCONTROLLING PNEUMATIOALLY AOTUATED DEVICES.

APPL'IGATION FILED JAN. 16. 1906 3 SHEETSSHEET3.

r/ 8 j Z UNITED STATES PATENT orrron.

GEORGE r.

BRAND, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLING PNEU MATlCALLY-ACTUATED DEVICES.-

Specification of Letters Patent,

Patented. Nov. 13, 1906;

Application filed January 16,1906. Serial N= 296,3131

, To all whom it may concern:

, Be it known that I, GEORGE P. BRAND, a

citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Bronx, city,-county, and btate of New York, have invented certain new-and useful Improvementsin Means for Automatically Controlling Pneumatically Actuated Devices, of which the following is a specificatlon.

'- applicable to automatic players and mech anism generally.

The invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed specifically.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is f a sectional elevation, more or less diagrammatic, showing the parts essential to the practical application of my invention, the partsv being in their normal positions-or at rest.

Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating as com-- pared withFig. 1 the relative positions'of the parts during action Figsq3 and 4, sectional elevations illustrating a modification in the arrangement of the controlling mechanism and showing the parts in the two po sitions. 4

A represents chestwork of any. desired form or. construction contammg a tensionfoha'mber a, communicating directly through the conduit a with the wind-chest B, in which a state of partial vacuum is maintained by exhaust mechanism in the manner well known in the state of the art. 0 is another tension-chamber formed in the casing C, which latter may be nection therewith or may represent a crossindividual to the par' ticularvalve and pneumatic shown in con-,

duplicate of which is shown, however, it be-' ing understood that a controlling device is provided for each actuating-pneumatic used and that the action of each controllin device and actuating-pneumatic is individual and independent of'the others.

' The actuating-pneumatic D in its normal position is inflated. by reason of itscommuni- 'cation with the atmosphere through its port (1 and the valve-seat e in the chest or casing. A rod or pitman d is pivotally connected, with the movable member (2 of the actuating.-

turn connected with or acting upon, either directly or through intermediate parts, a device, be the same musical or otherwise, which matically by the deflation of the said pneunipfatic D. This is accomplished by cutting o and the interior of the actuating-pneumatic by means of the valveE when the latter is pressed-against theyalve-seat e, the transfer saidouter seat e at the same time putting the interior of the actuating-pneumatic incommunication with the tension chamber 0. Normally the valve E is held against its inner seat e by atmospheric pressure, owing to the tension within the chamber 0. The valve E 0 c and at its'inner end is provided with a button 6 which rests against the diaphragm e dividing the tension-chamber from the diaphragm-chamber a The latter communicates through theduct e and passage with the space f underneath the valve F, seated on the top-of the chest A and opening to the atmosphere when raised, so as to adm'it air through the duct 0 to the diaphragmchainber e When this happens, the pressure onthe diaphragm e overcomes that on the valve E and the latter is transferred from its'inner seat 0 to its outer seat e, as before set forth. Thereturn of the valve F to it seat, cuts ofl' communication between the atmosphere and the diaphragm e, the conthrough the annular space f around the valve-stem f of the valve E. Said annular space acting as a bleed for the reliefnof the diaphragm cf thus allows the valve E to be returned to its inner seat e by atmospheric pressure, thereby again cutting ofi communicommunication between the atmosphere is mounted upon a rod 0 supported in guides pneumatic D, said rod or pitman d being in it is desired to throw into operation autoof said valve E from its inner seat e to its fined air escaping into the tens1on-chamber a cation between the tension-chamber c and the actuating valve-pneumatic and causing;

the inflation of the latter. i

The chief feature inthe-present'case consists in the novel mechanism for effecting the raising andlowering or opening "and closing of this air-valve F. In both instancesin Fig. 1 it is shown in its closed or normal position, with the lower ends of its sternf just out of contact with the controller-army, the osition of which controls the position the val veF'with relation to its fiseat, said conitrol-ler 'armrg'be'ing. pivotallysupp'orted, as at' :g.,t'0 astati'onarypart within the tensionchamber a-andbeing arranged'to act asa lever of the-second order 'in'that the valveste'rnf when itirestsupori it does so-at a point 9 between itsfulcrum g and thefree end of the--leverto'which the power 1s-e1nployed.

The button J engages with the diaphra :L,

At the point of-contact the upper surface of the controlling-lever g is preferably cut away or otherwise formedwith a transverse groove orrecess toiit over-and steady the lower end of the valve-stem f when the controllinglever is raised to lift the said stern f and valve F. as'shown in Fig. 2. The controlling-lever -g is formed withfa lateral extension giywhich in thenormal position of the lever shown in Fig'l rests against a stationary bufler'h, against which it is held by a spring 72/.

A pivotally-supported latch I islheld in contact with the lower end-of the lateralextension 9 by aspring i. This latch 'I is formed-with a notch or recess '5 forengagement with the-end of said extension 9 when the controlling-lever is raised, as shown in Fig. 2. Resting on the free end of the latch I *is-the stem'j of a diaphragm-button J, said stem passing through stationary guides h k interposed between the tension-cham er a and thediaphragm-chamber Z, communicating through the duct Z with the opening t in the tracker-bar T. A bleed Z? closes the end ofa lateral passage Z between the diaphragmchamber land the tension-chamber a.

Another diaphragm-button M rests on a diaphragm N, interposed between the tension-chamber a and the diaphragm-chamber n, "the stem m of the button M extending up throughthe stationary guide In into'the path of the free end of the controlling-lever 'g. The diaphragm-chamber a communicates through the duct n with the opening t in the tracker-bar T, and said chamber at has a lateral assage at extending ,to the tensionchamer a, but closed by a bleed n The tracker bar T is shown in longitudinal secti'on, the perforated music-sheet .traveling over the same transversely in the usual way, so that it is to be understood that the two openings -t t are not in the same longitudinal P am on the music-sheet.

The'operation is as followa'the parts heing at'rest in; the relative positions shown in Fig. 1: -When a perforation in the musicsheet comes into coincidence with the-opening 15 in the tracker-bar T, air is admitted through the duct 'n/ to the diaphragm-chamber n, thereby raising the diaphragm N, and

' withit the button Mand its stem m, whichlatter is thus made to raise the controllinglever 9' against the resistance of the spring h, the latch I by reason of its spring i automatically looking I the lever g in its raised position as soon as the lower end of the lateral extension 9 passes beyond the shoulder i and into the notch t. The raising of=the controlling-lever g,*acting upon thestem'j, raises-the valve F -fromits'seat, therebya'dmitting air to the diaphragm-chamber e throughthe medium ofv the duct-e",and causing the diaphragm e acting on-lthe button e3,t0'trans'fer the'valv'e E from its inner seat e to its outer seat e, thereby deflating the "actuatingpn'eumatic D, as hereinbeforeset forth. As a result the rod.

or pitman d performs "the work assigned to it, throwing into or-outof action, as the case may be, any special device with which it may lJG-CODIIGClZBd.

The locking of the controlling-lever -g' automatically injthis" raised positionby means of the latch I insures a maintenance ofthe condition of affairs above described even though the music-"sheet covers 'theopening t in the tracker-barand until said controllinglever gis released by thelatch I. This occurs when a perforation in the Inusic-sheet comes into coincidencewith the perforations t in the tracker-bar T, therebyadmitting air through the'duct Z to the diaphragm-chamber. Z. This causes the diaphragm to depress the button 'J and rod j, which latter forces the free end of the latch I downward against the resistance of the s ring t sufliciently to release the end of the ateral-extension 9 of the controlling-lever g from the shoulder i of said latch I, when the spring h :returns the controlling-lever g to its normal osition, thus allowing the valve Fto reseat itself and exclude the air from the duct 6 and diaphragm-chamber e As the confined air escapes from said chamber a and duct 6 through the bleed f around the valve-stem r15 f the diaphragm e yields and-the value Eis forced awayi'romthe outer seat e and onto its inner'seat e, reestablishing communication through the port (1 between the atmosphere and-the interrorof the actuating-pneumatic, which is thereby reinfiated and causing the retractile movement of the rod or pitman d.

It .will be "seen that the construction and o eration of parts isessentia'lly the same in t e modification illustrated in Figs. 3"and 4, as above described, the main difi'erence being that theresettingrod m, button M, diaphragm N, &c. are arranged in a position at right an- What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In pneumatic apparatus controlled by a perforated sheet passing over a tracker-bar, the combination with said tracker-board and with a tension-chamber of a pneumatic .for actuating a s ecial device and means for trackenbar and arranged to act on the said latch to release the said controlling-lever, together with means for returning the latter automatically to its normal position.

2. In pneumatic apparatus controlled by a perforated sheet passing over. a tracker-bar, the combination with said tracker-board and with a tension-chamber of a pneumatic for actuating a special device and means for inflating and deflating said actuating-pneumatic, consisting of a double-seated'valve opening to the atmosphere on one side and to a tension-chamb'er on the other, a pneumatic for operating said double-seated valve, a valve for admitting air to operate said pneumatic, a controlling-lever for raising said valve from its seat, a pneumatic controlled from the tracker-bar and arranged to raise said controlling-lever; a latch for-automatically locking said controlling-lever when raised another pneumatic controlled from the tracker-bar and arranged to act on the said latch torelease' the said controlling-lever, means for re-' turning the latter automatically to its normal position, the said controlling-lever, latch and the rodsfor operating the same being situated in a common tension-chamber, and said tension-chamber '3. In pneumatic apparatus controlled by a perforated sheet passing over a tracker-bar, the combination with said tracker board and with a tension-chamber with pneumatic mechanism for directly controlling a special device, of a valve for admitting air to actuate said pneumatic-controlling mechanism, and

mechanism for opening and seating said valve said mechanism being situated in a common tensi0n-chamber and consisting of a controlling-lever arranged to raise said air-valve from its seat, an automatic latch for securing said controlling-lever when raised, a diaphragm-pneumatic and rod for raising said valve-controlling lever, an air-duct connecting the diaphragm-chamber with an opening in a tracker-bar, another diaphragm-pneumatic and rod for disengaging the latch from said valve-controlling lever, an air-duct connecting the diaphragm-chamber of the lastnamedpneumatic with an opening in the trackerbar, and chestwork inclosing and forming said common tension-chamber, and connected with suitable means for exhausting the air therefrom. Y

GEORGE P. BRAND. Witnesses:

D. W. GARDNER, Gno. WM. MIAjT'r. 

